Internet e-ethics in confrontation with an activists' agenda: Yahoo! on trial

Marc Le Menestrel (), Mark Hunter and Henri Claude de Bettignies

Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract: A prolonged confrontation between Yahoo! Inc. and French anti-racism activists who ask for the removal of Nazi items from auction sites as well as restricted access to neo-Nazis sites is analyzed. We present the case and its development up to the decision of Yahoo! Inc. to remove the items from yahoo.com following a French court’s verdict against the firm. Using a business ethics approach, we distinguish the legal, technical, philosophical and managerial issues involved in the case and their management by Yahoo! We conclude on the difficulty of governing relations with society from corporate and legal affairs departments at the headquarters level, and on the clash of two visions over the regulation of social freedom.

Keywords: E-business; e-ethics; auctions; legal compliance; internet regulation; freedom of expression; media crisis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M14 O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ent and nep-net
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:upf:upfgen:577

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